


The Kind of Friends We Used to Be, The Kind of Friends We Want to Be

by embraidery



Category: Frances O'Roark Dowell (author), Secret Language of Girls Series - Frances O'Roark Dowell
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Character Development, Friendship, Gen, High School, Post-Canon, also this is sort of, it's basically the same but with facebook etc, not really though i just found out there's a third book?, so technically it is, the romance is in the background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 12:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11290848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embraidery/pseuds/embraidery
Summary: Kate likes playing guitar, procrastinating, and avoiding anything 'feminine' like the plague.Marilyn likes cheerleading, having her life in order, and doing what she has to do to fit in.They're slowly learning how to reconcile their differences.





	The Kind of Friends We Used to Be, The Kind of Friends We Want to Be

“So, it’s our first Spring Fling!” Marilyn enthused, smoothing lipstick over her perfect pout. “Are you totally sure you don’t want to come?” Kate couldn’t stop a sigh from escaping as she thumped backwards onto the bed. Marilyn glanced at Kate in the mirror. “Okay, okay, fine.”

Kate bit back a nasty retort and silently counted to ten. “I know you’re trying to help. But, as I've said, I don’t think dating is for me,” she said, picking a scab on her ankle. She snuck a glance at Marilyn. Marilyn twisted the cap of her  lipstick round and round.

“So…” Kate began. Marilyn set the lipstick on the counter and grabbed a tissue. “I guess your mom’s finally decided to let you wear makeup?” Kate asked, watching Marilyn blot her lipstick. She fiddled with the end of one shoelace.

“Nope. That’s why I asked if I could come to yours,” Marilyn said, and Kate’s eyes flicked up to hers. The ice cracked along with Marilyn’s smile.

Kate chuckled. “You mean you wouldn’t have dragged your makeup bag over here anyway?” Marilyn closed her eyes as she laughed too hard. Kate watched her purple duvet cover wrinkle under her hand as she pulled her hand toward her. “You know, I wouldn’t tell you this in a million years, but sometimes I want to try wearing lipstick..." She avoided Marilyn’s eyes and picked out a few chords on her guitar.

To her credit, Marilyn didn’t bat an eye (although she was busy applying eye shadow). “Really? What color?”

“What, you’re not going to tell me what color you think would look best?” Kate blurted. She smacked both hands over her mouth.

Marilyn brandished her eye shadow brush at Kate over her shoulder. “I think I’ve been getting better, don’t you? Besides the thing about you coming to the dance."

“I plead the fifth!” Kate said, laughing, and ducked to avoid the pillow Marilyn threw at her.

“Anyway, you could pull off almost anything! Pink-- _not too girly,_ Kate--burgundy--I think purple would be a killer look, or even blue, you could do blue. It would go better if your wardrobe wasn’t, like, 90% black.” Marilyn squinted at herself in the mirror.

“My wardrobe is definitely only, like, 70% black.” Kate glanced at the mess of black shirts perched on her desk and swivel chair. “Well, 75%. Or 80%.” She settled her guitar in her lap again.

Marilyn shrugged. “I’m not saying anything.” She pulled her eyelid taut and drew a ruler-straight wing. “Actually, black everything with blue lipstick could be even more of a look.”

“I’m starting to regret mentioning the lipstick thing,” Kate warned, rolling across her bed to grab a pen. She scribbled a new chord progression on her forearm.

“You might never tell me anything again!” Marilyn laughed, picking up a mascara wand. She poked her tongue between her teeth as she applied mascara to her left eye.

Kate glanced down at Marilyn’s phone as it buzzed. “Tamara says that you _must_ check out Mazie’s homecoming photo. Who’s Tamara?”

“Oh, I met her at the soccer game last week, she’s new,” Marilyn said, doing the mascara on her other eye. “Can you pull up Mazie’s picture for me?”

When Kate thought their friendship was hanging on by a thread, she reminded herself that she knew Marilyn’s locker combo and phone password. Marilyn didn't give either to any old friend. Kate opened Facebook. “Okay, first of all, why are you still friends with Mazie?”

The hand applying mascara stilled. “Oh, it’s too much bother to unfriend her,” Marilyn said. “Can I see the picture?”

Kate watched her with narrowed eyes. “She was never anything but awful, Marilyn, and you know it.”

Marilyn set down the mascara tube too hard. “Can I please see the photo, Kate?” Kate sighed and decided to bring it up later. She held the phone up so Marilyn could see. Marilyn sank onto the bed, staring at the photo. “Oh no.”

Kate looked over Marilyn’s shoulder. To her, it looked like any other inane photo of a group of overdressed teens. “Wait...is that your dress?” She glanced at Marilyn’s pink princess dress hanging over the door.

“I can't believe this!” Marilyn zoomed in on the photo and traced the outline of Mazie’s dress. “What should I do?”

“Can't you still wear your dress?”

“No!” Marilyn said, dropping her phone onto the bed.

Kate awkwardly draped her arm over Marilyn’s shoulder. “Could you...wear a jacket over it?”

“What? Of course not!”

Kate paced.

Marilyn looked at Mazie wearing her dress.

“Your dress reminds me of your fairy princess dress,” Kate said, touching the soft pink fabric.

“I know I wore that dress to the student council debate, but I _cannot_ wear it to Spring Fling, Kate.” Marilyn dropped her head into her hands, then remembered her makeup and whipped her head up.

Kate shook her head. “You know how to sew a little, so you could alter your dress somehow.”

Marilyn jumped up. “We’ll have to hurry, Eric’s picking me up in an hour! I’ll be back.” She ran down the stairs, out of Kate’s house, and over to her own house. She came back with her sewing kit and fairy princess dress in hand. “I’m so glad they’re the same color!”

Kate plopped down on the bed by the sewing kit. “Anything I can do?”

"Pass me the scissors?” Marilyn asked.

“It’s like you’re the surgeon and I’m the nurse,” Kate said, passing her the scissors.

Marilyn laughed. “Nurse, pass me the pins?”

Kate rummaged in the kit and produced a package of pins. “Here you go, doctor! The patient needs these, stat!”

“Stitch ripper?” Marilyn asked. Kate obligingly passed it to her friend. Marilyn sighed and hugged the fairy princess dress to her chest. “I’m sorry!” she whispered, before beginning to remove the stitches along the sash. She removed the tulle layer of the skirt and had Kate help her take out all the silk flowers. Kate watched in awe as Marilyn pinned the gauzy skirt over the fabric of her new dress and began to sew. In less than forty-five minutes, Marilyn had sewed the tulle layer and the sash onto her new dress. Kate wanted to spend time admiring the result of Marilyn’s labors, but she didn’t have time.

“You have ten minutes,” Kate said, checking her watch. “Dress: check. Makeup: check. Hair: check. What else do you need?”

Marilyn was plumping her updo in the mirror with one hand while zipping her dress with the other. “Shoes, phone, wallet, makeup kit...” She grabbed her purse and checked that everything was inside. “I still haven’t taken photos!”

“I’ll be your photographer,” Kate said, grabbing her camera from the bedside table. She directed Marilyn to stand in front of the fireplace, then a bare wall. Every time she stopped to adjust a setting on the camera, Marilyn would say, “Hurry, hurry!” Finally, Kate had taken several photos she was proud of. As soon as she switched off the camera, Eric pulled up outside.

“He’s here!” Marilyn exclaimed, wildly patting her hair and smoothing her dress.

“Hey, hey. Calm down,” Kate said, turning Marilyn to face her. “You look great, by normal people’s standards. Eric is sort of nice, as far as I know, and he’ll take care of you. You have your wallet and your phone. Call me if you need to.” She opened the door for Eric.

“Thank you, Kate!” Marilyn whispered, squeezing her hand as she brushed by. “Hi Eric!” she squeaked, accepting the corsage he offered her.

“You look beautiful, Marilyn,” he said, taking her in. “And hello...Kate, isn’t it?”

"Yep,” Kate said, putting on her acquaintances-only smile. “Should I take pictures of you two, Marilyn?” She got out the camera again and took a few photos of the smiling couple. Marilyn’s blonde hair glinted in the light, as did her new necklace and the sparkles on her bodice.

Kate took a few photos and paused to look at them through the viewfinder. Eric stood at ease, one hand resting on Marilyn’s shoulder and the other lounging in his pocket. Marilyn was standing tall, almost on tiptoes, her smile stretched wide. Kate noticed that the hand not around Eric’s waist was fidgeting with the layers of tulle, until Marilyn noticed and held her arm against her side. Kate took another picture for good measure.

“All done!” she said, switching off the camera again. “Now, kids, be good and be back before midnight.” She set the camera on the table and shoved her hands into her pockets.

Marilyn laughed. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Eric offered her his arm and they swept out the front door into the night. Marilyn stumbled a little in her new heels. “Goodnight, Kate! Have fun!”

“I will,” Kate called. She watched their car back down the driveway, bracing her arm against the window frame. She drew a smiley face on the fog and  watched until the displaced droplets made their way to the bottom of the window. Kate padded into the kitchen. Mugs chinked against one another as she took down the mug Paisley had made her. She stirred her hot chocolate, watching the foam flow in and out of patterns on the surface. Kate had only taken one sip when her phone rang.

“Hey Matthew.” She swirled her fingertip in the sugar she’d spilled. “I’ll be there in half an hour. Can you order me a nacho plate?” She put the phone on speaker so she could shrug into her coat. “Yep, see you then.” She headed out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally planned to turn this into a multichap affair but I think it stands alone and I don't feel like writing the other chapters, so it's a one shot for now.
> 
> In this chapter the girls are 14, freshmen in high school.
> 
> The first half of the title is the name of the second book while the second half is mine!


End file.
